


Gemma and the Winged Bear

by Whitewolfgirl77



Series: Short Stories [10]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Style, Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21806032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whitewolfgirl77/pseuds/Whitewolfgirl77
Summary: Gemma just wanted to go visit her best friend Doris when she comes across a winged bear and an adventure she never expected to get herself into.
Series: Short Stories [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1321934
Kudos: 4





	Gemma and the Winged Bear

Once upon a time there was a giving girl called Gemma Trescothik. She was on the way to see her best friend Doris Parker, when she decided to take a short cut through Thetford Forest.

It wasn't long before Gemma got lost. She looked around, but all she could see were trees. Nervously, she felt into her bag for her favourite toy, Molly, but Molly was nowhere to be found! Gemma began to panic. She felt sure she had packed Molly. To make matters worse, she was starting to feel hungry.

Unexpectedly, she saw a winged bear dressed in a purple jacket disappearing into the trees.

"How odd!" thought Gemma.

For the want of anything better to do, she decided to follow the peculiarly dressed bear. Perhaps it could tell him the way out of the forest.

Eventually, Gemma reached a clearing. In the clearing were two houses, one made from peppers and one made from sweets.

Gemma could feel her tummy rumbling. Looking at the houses did nothing to ease her hunger.

"Hello!" she called. "Is anybody there?"

Nobody replied.

Gemma looked at the roof on the closest house and wondered if it would be rude to eat somebody else's chimney. Obviously it would be impolite to eat a _whole_ house, but perhaps it would be considered acceptable to nibble the odd fixture or lick the odd fitting, in a time of need.

A cackle broke through the air, giving Gemma a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Molly!

"Molly!" shouted Gemma. She turned to the witch. "That's my toy!"

The witch just shrugged.

"Give Molly back!" cried Gemma.

"Not on your nelly!" said the witch.

"At least let Molly out of that cage!"

Before she could reply, the winged bear in the purple jacket rushed in from a footpath on the other side of the cleaning.

"Hello Big Bear," said the witch.

"Good morning." The bear noticed Molly. "Who is this?"

"That's Molly," explained the witch.

"Ooh! Molly would look lovely in my house. Give it to me!" demanded the bear.

The witch shook her head. "Molly is staying with me."

"Um... Excuse me..." Gemma interrupted. "Molly lives with me! And _not_ in a cage!"

Big Bear ignored her. "Is there nothing you'll trade?" he asked the witch.

The witch thought for a moment, then said, "I do like to be entertained. I'll release him to anybody who can eat a whole front door."

Big Bear looked at the house made from sweets and said, "No problem, I could eat an entire _house_ made from sweets if I wanted to."

"There's no need to show off," said the witch. Just eat one front door and I'll let you have Molly."

Gemma watched, feeling very worried. She didn't want the witch to give Molly to Big Bear. She didn't think Molly would like living with a winged bear, away from her house and all her other toys.

Big Bear put on his bib and withdraw a knife and fork from his pocket.

"I'll eat this whole house," said Big Bear. "Just you watch!"

Big Bear pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from sweets. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.

And more.

And more.

Eventually, Big Bear started to get bigger - just a little bit bigger at first. But after a few more fork-fulls of sweets, he grew to the size of a large snowball - and he was every bit as round.

"Erm... I don't feel too good," said Big Bear.

Suddenly, he started to roll. He'd grown so round that he could no longer balance!

"Help!" he cried, as he rolled off down a slope into the forest.

Big Bear never finished eating the front door made from sweets and Molly remained trapped in the witch's cage.

"That's it," said the witch. "I win. I get to keep Molly."

"Not so fast," said Gemma. "There is still one front door to go. The front door of the house made from peppers. And I haven't had a turn yet.

"I don't have to give you a turn!" laughed the witch. "My game. My rules."

The woodcutter's voice carried through the forest. "I think you should give her a chance. It's only fair."

"Fine," said the witch. "But you saw what happened to the bear. She won't last long."

"I'll be right back," said Gemma.

"What?" said the witch. "Where's your sense of impatience? I thought you wanted Molly back."

Gemma ignored the witch and gathered a hefty pile of sticks. She came back to the clearing and started a small camp fire. Carefully, she broke off a piece of the door of the house made from peppers and toasted it over the fire. Once it had cooked and cooled just a little, she took a bite. She quickly devoured the whole piece.

Gemma sat down on a nearby log.

"You fail!" cackled the witch. "You were supposed to eat the whole door."

"I haven't finished," explained Gemma. "I am just waiting for my food to go down."

When Gemma's food had digested, she broke off another piece of the door made from peppers. Once more, she toasted her food over the fire and waited for it to cool just a little. She ate it at a leisurely pace then waited for it to digest.

Eventually, after several sittings, Gemma was down to the final piece of the door made from peppers. Carefully, she toasted it and allowed it to cool just a little. She finished her final course. Gemma had eaten the entire front door of the house made from peppers.

The witch stamped her foot angrily. "You must have tricked me!" she said. "I don't reward _cheating_!"

"I don't think so!" said a voice. It was the woodcutter. He walked back into the clearing, carrying his axe. "This little girl won fair and square. Now hand over Molly or I will chop your broomstick in half."

The witch looked horrified. She grabbed her broomstick and placed it behind her. Then, huffing, she opened the door of the cage.

Gemma hurried over and grabbed Molly, checking that her favourite toy was all right. Fortunately, Molly was unharmed.

Gemma thanked the woodcutter, grabbed a quick souvenir, and hurried on to meet Doris. It was starting to get dark.

When Gemma got to Doris's house, her best friend threw her arms around her.

"I was so worried!" cried Doris. "You are _very_ late."

As Gemma described her day, she could tell that Doris didn't believe her. So she grabbed a napkin from her pocket.

"What's that?" asked Doris.

Gemma unwrapped a doorknob made from sweets. "Pudding!" she said.

Doris almost fell off her chair.


End file.
